A 31-year-old man has been remanded in custody after being charged in relation to the seizure of an estimated €840,000 of cocaine which gardaí believe was destined for the Christmas market.
Rihards Maceks, a Latvian national, was charged with two offences arising from the discovery of 12kg of cocaine by gardaí when they stopped a car on the M8 motorway in Glanmire, Co Cork, on Wednesday.
Mr Maceks, of Flat 1, Charles Kickham House, Main Street, Tipperary town, was charged with possession of the drugs and possession for sale or supply on December 18th.
Det Garda Rory Fogarty, of the Cork City Divisional Drugs Squad, gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution, and told the court that Mr Maceks made no reply to either charge after caution.
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He said gardaí believed Mr Maceks should not be granted bail because of the seriousness of the charge, adding that possession of €840,000 worth of drugs can carry a sentence of 10 years.
Gardaí were also objecting on the strength of the evidence against Mr Maceks, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle in which the haul was discovered.
The court heard the cocaine was hidden in a compartment between the car’s boot and rear seats, which was accessed using a magnetic lock which was under Mr Macek’s control.
Det Garda Fogarty said gardaí were also objecting on the grounds that Mr Maceks was a flight risk and could abscond if released as he had no fixed address. He said Mr Maceks had provided an address where he stayed and he admitted at interview that it was his ex-partner’s flat. He said he couch surfed there and also stayed in his car.
Defence solicitor Shane Collins Daly asked Det Garda Fogarty were there any conditions his client could meet where bail would be granted. Det Garda Fogarty said there were not.
Mr Maceks said he would be happy to sign on at his local Garda station in Tipperary twice daily and would be happy to abide by any curfew that the court might impose. He said he could not surrender his passport or identity card as they had expired, but that his ex-partner had confirmed he could reside at her flat if granted bail.
Mr Maceks agreed with Sgt Kelleher that he had been caught with €840,000 worth of cocaine and that it was a very serious offence.
After hearing the evidence, and the fact that the accused had been caught red-handed with such a large amount of cocaine, Judge Mary Dorgan said she was refusing bail.
She remanded Mr Maceks in custody to appear again at Cork District Court on December 27th. She granted him free legal aid after hearing he had been unemployed for three years.
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